


Agent B. Barnes, SSR

by lovelyavengers (fandomsandxfiles)



Series: From The SSR Case Files [2]
Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, F/M, reader is an SSR agent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23270530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomsandxfiles/pseuds/lovelyavengers
Summary: After escaping the clutches of Hydra, Bucky Barnes is taken in by the SSR, where he wants to become an agent.  Agent Y/N L/N is tired of being pushed around by her male coworkers, and is told that she can train Bucky, both to keep her mostly out of trouble and make her feel like she is doing something worthwhile. What the SSR doesn't expect is that these two agents can, and will, get in a lot of trouble when left unsupervised.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Series: From The SSR Case Files [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1809622
Kudos: 23





	1. Escape

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I'm Tori and this is my first Bucky/Reader fic. If you've read anything else I've written, welcome back! And if not, welcome anyway! 
> 
> This fic does reference some of the characters and events of Agent Carter, but knowledge of the show is not super necessary for reading. If you haven't watched the masterpiece of television that is Agent Carter though, I highly recommend it!!
> 
> I hope you enjoy my fic and I just wanted to say that I'm always open to talking about my fics on my tumblr or my wattpad, which are both @fandomsandxfiles - if you wanted to talk more privately than a comment.

Pain. That's what Bucky's entire reality was. Every single day was the same in captivity. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know when it was, and on particularly dark days, he sometimes doesn't know who he was. He had been rescued after falling off the train, if what he experienced could even be called rescuing. Which it couldn't. He was saved from one death and just killed another way, as a lab rat to who he assumed was Hydra, because he didn't really know about any other evil intelligence agencies. 

He remembers falling off the train during the war. He often wonders how long it's been since then. If the war was still going on, and if it wasn't, who won. He wonders if his friends made it out alive, Steve, Dum Dum, the rest of the 107th. He wonders how his family is doing, if they are even still living in the same house in Brooklyn. He would give anything to see them again, to not live the nightmare that was his waking reality. 

He remembers pain so excruciating in his left arm. He vaguely remembers being taken to a building, one that would be a laboratory for his captors. He remembers the pain in his left arm getting worse, but also not having a left arm anymore. The missing arm was soon replaced with one completely made of metal, but the phantom pains never went away. Soon, it was such a constant in his life he didn't notice it anymore. 

As much as pain was a constant presence in Bucky's life, so was escape. He ran away any chance he got, and when he was in control of his own mind, escape was all he could think about. He never succeeded in escaping, and the punishment only got worse once they caught up to him. But that didn't stop Bucky from running away, because if there was the smallest chance of escape, it would make the pain worth it. 

He didn't even know where he was running to, because he didn't know where he was being held captive. And it wasn't like he was being held in an urban location, he was always faced with thick forests and darkness when he managed to escape, often different from the last time he ran away. And as much as he wanted to give up, there was a fighting spirit inside his mind that wasn't going to let his captors win. 

When Bucky did actually manage to escape, and keep from being captured again, it felt like a dream. It felt to him like the world was playing a big joke on him, and that tomorrow he'd wake up in that chair again and forced to play lab rat for his captors. So he ran, ran as far away from that base as he possibly could, and hid from the world. 

He didn't know how many days he lived like that, running away but seemingly never leaving the woods, living off apples picked from passing trees and sleeping in bushes. He didn't know where he was. This could be just what the world was now, and he wouldn't have known anything else. 

After god knows how many days, Bucky finally came upon civilization. He stepped out of the woods and into a suburb, and he honestly didn't know what to do with himself. He had never gotten this far in escape before, didn't know how long he had until his captors would catch up to him and drag him back to the hell he suffered for so long. 

So he staggered through the streets of the sleepy little town, ignoring the strange looks from passerby, looking for somewhere he could go. He happened upon the police station first, and went inside. They would at least know where the hell he was anyway. 

***

So that's where he was right now, sitting on a chair in an interrogation room, cup of coffee and a sandwich in front of him, as he awaited the return of the local police. They were nice to him, taking a statement and directing him to the only room they had that didn't have other people in it, hence why he was sitting at a table in a room that normally housed the guilty. It's his name that got him here, Bucky knows that. The cop on duty, a veteran with a scar on his left cheek, points out a poster hanging in their bullpen. It was one of Steve's stupid recruitment posters, where he's pointing at the camera with a hand on his hip and the caption reads, "We need YOU to do your part and win the war!" The worst part of it is that Bucky has no idea if Steve is even still alive. Apparently Steve's adventures after sticking himself with super-juice have become somewhat of a big deal, with a radio show dedicated to reliving his victories and schools teaching kids about Captain America and the Howling Commandos. The officer gently told him that Steve was gone after bringing him some coffee, and as much as Bucky didn't want to believe it, there was something deep inside him that knew. 

The cops take his statement, saying that there has been rumors of people traipsing through the woods outside town limits, but nothing they could ever arrest anyone for. He is brought water, food, and coffee, and Bucky could not remember the last time he ate anything substantial or was properly hydrated. 

He's in New Jersey, by the way, in a sleepy town that surrounded by forests or farmlands on all sides, about a half hour by car from New York City. The year is 1947, which takes him by surprise. It's simultaneously shocking to him that more time hasn't passed, because some days felt like decades in captivity, but also that he's lost two whole years of his life. Two years of life that he can never get back, stolen from him by people he can't even name. 

He was filled in on the world events by the cop, in the most basic of ways. The war was over, Hitler killed himself, the United States dropped two of the most powerful weapons on the planet on towns in Japan, and Russia was now the country we were worried about. The officer left to make some calls and Bucky just sat silently, thinking about what he was going to do. And he didn't know what he could do. Until the door opened again and a blond man walked in. 

Bucky stood up as he entered, and the other man put his hand out for Bucky to shake. "Chief Jack Thompson," he said officially. "I work for the Strategic Scientific Reserve, and I can help you." 

"That organization sounds familiar," Bucky admitted. "Have we met before?" 

"You might have interacted with some of our agents during the war," Chief Thompson said. "I wasn't there to see it, but our scientists were the ones to work with Captain Rogers and the super soldier serum." So that's where he recognized the name from. Steve. 

"So where were you then?" 

"During the war? Japan," he said. "And I could ask you the same question." The words might have seemed hostile, but Bucky knew they weren't meant to be.

"You talking about just now or when Steve nearly doubled in size?" 

Thompson gave him a small smile. "Either one, Sergeant Barnes." 

Chief Thompson was understanding, if not a touch reserved, and he looked with a watchful eye of everything around him. Bucky told him everything he could remember since waking up. The police officer had called the SSR after Bucky had told him his story, figuring they would probably be more help to Bucky than a simple town police department. Bucky also suspected that the cop was a little bit of a fan as well. 

He agreed, maybe a little too quickly, to go back to New York with Chief Thompson, and they would work on apprehending his captors. The SSR had spare apartments for whatever purpose, and Thompson said that Bucky was welcome to stay there for as long as he needed. 

The drive back to New York was fairly silent, until Bucky blurted out of nowhere, "I want to be an agent," much to Jack's surprise. But Bucky was sure. He wanted to not only get rid of the people who made his life hell forever, but there was something in him that knew he wouldn't be able to exist anywhere else, not after what happened to him. 

"Are you sure?" 

"As sure as the sky's blue," Bucky responded, a lot more confidently than he felt. "I can't forget what I went through, and I don't know if I can go back to regular life after everything. I just want to feel helpful, and maybe I can help do some good in the world." 

"Well then," Thompson said, a small smile on his face. "It just so happens that we might have an opening for you. I guess a congratulations on the new job is in order, Agent Barnes." 

And with that, for the first time in who knows how long, Bucky genuinely smiled.


	2. First Meetings

You walked into the SSR office at five to nine, and there was already a stack of papers sitting on your desk. You groaned to yourself, knowing they were just filing. You were hired as an agent right after the Howard Stark weapons case fiasco, and you felt like the agency probably would have been better off just getting themselves a secretary. Because as much as the SSR really needed to reorganize their filing system, you were not going to be the one to do it. 

Picking up the stack of filing, you were just heading off to the records room when Chief Thompson walked into the bullpen and motioned for you to follow him into his office. "Agent L/N, I need to speak with you." 

Somewhat shocked, you stumbled over your words. "Sure Chief, once I'm done filing these reports I'll-" 

"Agent Smith will handle filing for today," he said, turning to the aforementioned agent, whose face fell when he heard he was on filing duty. "You can follow me into my office." 

Still incredibly confused, you dropped the files on Smith's desk and headed into the office to see what the Chief wanted. 

Chief Thompson was one of the only people in the office, if not the only one, who wasn't an absolute jerk to you on a regular basis. You were his first new hire after becoming Chief, and Peggy had knocked some sense into him, making him realize that you were the best fit for the job and that you deserved respect. About a year after you'd been hired, the world was shaken up again when Peggy went to help the Los Angeles office out on a case, and the Chief had to fly over there a few times as well. Unfortunately for him, he got on the wrong side of a bullet and had to delay his return to New York even more. Now Chief Thompson was back, and you were glad for it. 

With Peggy transferred for good to the Los Angeles SSR, you were now the only female agent in the New York office, and as much as you loved your job, sometimes the other agents made you want to quit. You knew that the other agents didn't see you as their equal, that was evident by the countless useless tasks they sent you on and the fact that you didn't have anyone you could consider a friend. The one exception to that was maybe Chief Thompson, but you weren't quite sure if you could be "friends" with your supervisor.

Chief Thompson was the only one who saw the potential value in having a female agent in the office, as you occasionally got to go out on undercover missions as an assistant, a secretary, a teacher, anyone who could get in and out of places with ease while still remaining invisible to those that the SSR was investigating. 

***

You sat down in one of the chairs across from the Chief's desk, still incredibly confused about what was going to happen to you. The Chief shut the door behind you and took a seat at his desk, picking up a file and handing it to you. 

Leafing through it didn't help alleviate any confusion. "Sir, this is the file for Captain Rogers and the Howling Commandos. As far as I'm aware, Captain Rogers is dead and the rest of his team is working by themselves in Europe. What does this have to do with us?" you asked, placing the file back on his desk.

Thompson leaned over his desk and pulled a photograph out of the file. "This is Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, friend of Captain Rogers, and until very recently, believed to have been killed during the war. Turns out, he wasn't dead after all, and has escaped those who were holding him captive," he said, handing you the photo. Sergeant Barnes was striking, with a soft smile on his face and bright blue eyes. "He escaped captivity and has given us reason to believe that there is still a piece of HYDRA operating." 

"What does this have to do with me?" you asked, putting the photograph back into the file. 

"He wants to become an SSR agent, and I'd like for you to train him, show him the ropes," Chief Thompson answered. "He wouldn't be going on field missions just yet because we're not sure how his time in captivity affected him, but I still want him to be in the office and interact with people in the most normal way possible." 

You nodded. "Why me though? Wouldn't he be better off being trained by another agent?" 

"I want him to see the way the SSR is run before he makes the decision himself whether or not to become a full time agent. The man just escaped one war two years later than he should have, I don't want him to rashly rush into another dangerous life. And honestly, out of all the agents in that bullpen, I trust you to give him the most objective picture of what life is like here," Jack answered. "And besides, you can basically order him around, and you and I both know that our files need reorganization. Now, we've got an excuse to do it." 

You were silent for a few moments before speaking. "Chief Thompson, other than the few missions that require my skill set and ability to blend in, I rarely go out on missions, and most of the time am treated like a secretary. If Sergeant Barnes is coming out of captivity and the last thing he remembers are his experiences during the war, I don't think he'll be too content just sitting around and fixing all of the other agents filing mistakes and being ordered around like a housekeeper."

Jack nodded. "Well, you would have to train Sergeant Barnes in field work as well, so after a while, once he's more comfortable with everything, you two could go out on smaller missions and do more field work. And you could use that as a way to get everyone else to do their own filing for once," he added, giving you a small smile.

The prospect of eventually getting the chance to stick it to all the agents who treated you like dirt was appealing. "Alright," you said. "When do I start?" 

"Tomorrow." 

***

The next day couldn't come fast enough, and you practically bounced into the bullpen the next morning, excited for the chance to prove yourself to the other agents. No one else knew that anything about Sergeant Barnes' arrival, or even that he wasn't actually dead, so you received strange looks from everyone in the office. 

When Jack arrived, he announced that the office would need to be vacant at around two in the afternoon, so everyone was allowed to head home at 1:30, earning whoops and smiles from the other agents. You knew that didn't include you, but you weren't too broken up about it. 

A few minutes after the last agent left that afternoon, Jack shut the door to the bullpen and motioned for you to follow him into the conference room. "I just got a call from Dorothy in the telephone operating room that Sergeant Barnes has arrived. She's going to send him through, all we have to do is wait here." 

You nodded, and before long, the door to the bullpen opened, and you and Jack stepped out to greet the man who just entered. 

From the minute he walked in, you could tell that he was nervous. His eyes immediately did a sweep of the bullpen, and his hands were stuffed into the pockets of his jackets. If Jack hadn't told you that he his left arm was made of metal, you would have never even considered it. Sergeant Barnes' eyes softened a little when he recognized Chief Thompson, but looked questioningly at you. You weren't sure if this was appropriate for you to think, but there was a certain beauty about him, and you would be lying if you said he wasn't attractive. 

You quickly filed that thought away as Thompson held out his hand for Sergeant Barnes to shake, giving him a welcoming smile. "Welcome to the SSR, Sergeant Barnes. This is Agent Y/N L/N," he said, motioning to you. "She'll be working with you and training you to become an SSR agent." 

You stepped out from beside the Chief and stuck your own hand out for him to shake. "It's nice to meet you Sergeant Barnes," you said warmly. 

He opened his mouth to respond to you, but Chief Thompson cut him off by accident. "Agent L/N is going to be working with you so that you know the ins and outs of the SSR, and after that, you can officially become an agent. All of the other agents were sent home for the day, so you have the place to yourselves for a tour and whatever else today brings. I'll be in my office if you need anything," he said before heading off. 

Turning to him, you smiled. "Alright Sergeant Barnes, it's time for the grand tour of the SSR." 

You led him around the building and quietly pointed out the different rooms, not knowing what to say to make conversation, and figuring that he didn't need your awkward small talk. At the end of the tour, he seemed a little overwhelmed, so you decided that everything else can wait for tomorrow. After popping into the Chief's office and letting him know you were leaving, the two of you headed out the door and back into the bustle of the city. 

"You seem tired, Sergeant Barnes," you said kindly. "Go home and get some rest, this must be a lot for you to take it at once. I don't know what time the Chief is having you come in, but you know where my desk is now, so just come find me there." 

You hadn't expected him to respond, as he'd been rather quiet the whole time, so it shocked you a little when you heard him clear his throat. "Agent L/N," he said quietly. "Please, call me Bucky. It sounds like we're going to be spending a lot of time together."

You smiled at him in response. "Alright Bucky. And you can call me Y/N. 'Agent L/N' just makes me feel like I'm in trouble." 

He gave a small snort of laughter at that. "I will see you tomorrow then, Y/N." 

You smiled to yourself as you headed home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you in the next one! :-)


	3. First Day Jitters

You arrived at the SSR office bright and early the next morning, thinking about what you should show Bucky today at the office. As far as you were aware, the other agents didn't know that the office was getting a new agent, let alone the fact that it was Captain America's not-dead best friend. You internally groaned, realizing that today was probably going to be taken up by introductions around the office, with every one of your coworkers crowding around Bucky to try and talk to him. 

Taking a seat at your desk, you began to sift through the stack of paperwork that was piling up. Some of it looked familiar, like you had set them aside to come back to, but on top of that pile sat reports you had never heard of, and the handwriting definitely wasn't yours. You groaned again when you remembered that Agent Turner was working the night shift last night. As much as you disliked most of the agents you worked with, you had a special hatred for Agent Turner. He was oafish, crude, and chauvinistic, and he felt that filing was 'beneath him,' so he always found a way to force you to do his filing for him. Every time he closed up a case last night, he must have walked right over and plopped it on your desk, thinking somehow you wouldn't notice. 

Thankfully, Turner wasn't going to be in the office today, so you could artfully drop the files back onto his desk while looking like you were going to the bathroom. It wasn't as if the other agents paid that much attention to you anyway. You settled back into your desk and didn't even think to look up from your work until you heard your desk phone ring. 

"L/N speaking," you said into the receiver. 

"Hi Agent L/N," a female voice said.

"Hi Catherine!" you answered. Catherine worked in the telephone operating room and was one of the few people you liked at the SSR. 

"You have a visitor here at the entrance, he said he was supposed to meet with you today?" she asked. "His name is James?" 

You had forgotten that Bucky couldn't just walk in by himself, and felt bad that you had told him to come right to your desk. "Do I need to come down and walk him in?" 

"Yeah, at least this time because of protocol," Catherine responded. 

"Not a problem, I'll be right over," you said, getting up from your desk. 

When you got to the telephone operating room, you saw Bucky standing next to Catherine with an apologetic look on his face. "Hi," he said timidly. "You said yesterday to come right to your desk, but I had to stay here." 

You nodded and smiled warmly at him. "Don't worry about that, I think Chief Thompson was going to set you up with an ID card today, and you'll be introduced to everyone." 

After letting the girls in the telephone room know who Bucky was and that he was training as an agent, you headed into the bullpen, Bucky trailing behind you. None of the other agents paid you or Bucky any mind as you walked all the way to the Chief's office. You knew that the best way to get the other agents to pay attention and listen to you would be to have the Chief call a small meeting, where you could then have Bucky introduce himself and let the agents know any important information. 

You knocked once on the Chief's door and heard him say "come in," so you motioned to Bucky to follow you and then headed inside. Chief Thompson looked up from the mass of paperwork on his desk and smiled at the two of you. "Whatever you need, can we stretch this out as long as possible?" he asked. "If I sign off on one more case as complete and for filing I think I'm going to explode."

"You know you can always just take a break right?" you asked him with your eyebrows raised. I'm sure if you took a half hour and just relaxed a little it wouldn't be a problem." 

"I know, I know," he said. "Now is a perfect time for me to do something else though, so what is it?" 

"Sergeant Barnes is going to need an ID card for the building, just in case anyone outside the SSR questions where he works, and he needs to be introduced to everyone in the office, so they aren't confused by his regular presence," you said. "I think the best way to do this is if you just stepped out and called a quick meeting right in the bullpen. We could introduce Sergeant Barnes to the rest of the agents then."

Chief Thompson nodded in response and finished initialing the the file that was sitting open on his desk before getting up and heading towards his office door. "How does right now sound?" 

"Sure, but-" you started to say, but before you could fully answer he was already out the door and was calling attention to the other agents. 

Bucky turned to you. "Are we supposed to follow him out there?" 

You shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure. It's probably a safer bet to go out there though," you said, heading towards the door yourself. Letting Bucky step out before you, you caught the end of Chief Thompson's speech about welcoming a new agent, and you vaguely caught your name when the Chief mentioned who would be working the most with Bucky. 

Bucky had stepped out of the Chief's office right when Thompson was running through his war record, and you could clearly see the looks of recognition on the other agents' faces when they saw him. Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes and the rest of the Howling Commandos were incredibly well known for the war record among the agents, and you had a feeling these men in particular were more shocked than others might be in their situation. Although you had only worked with Peggy for a short time before she transferred to the LA office, some of the agents in the room had worked with her since the end of the war, and would be well aware of the achievements of Captain Rogers and the Howling Commandos. 

Bucky nodded at everyone after the Chief stopped talking, looking a little nervous to have everyone staring at him. Thankfully, the agents quickly went back to work and Bucky turned to you. "What do we do now?" 

"Now," you answered, trying to sound as positive as you could. "We have a list of things to do." 

"A list?" 

"Yeah," you grimaced. "Unfortunately, this is what happens when you get stuck with me. My days consist of cleaning up other agent's messes in their files, putting them away correctly, and getting bossed around by men who are technically on the same level I am. And honestly, I think some of the agents purposely make the same mistakes in their filing case after case just so I have to fix it. Sometimes I feel like the SSR should have just gotten themselves a secretary. At least if my job description said filing, I'd be prepared for what I have to endure everyday." 

"I'm sure you've already tried this, but what do the other agents say when you ask them to just file correctly?" Bucky asked. 

"They insist that they didn't make any mistakes and then try to pawn off all their clerical work on me," you said, rolling your eyes. "And until Chief Thompson is one hundred percent positive that you know the inner workings and procedures of the SSR, you'll be stuck with me, enduring this so called 'clerical work.'"

"What about after that?" 

You shrugged at him in response. "Honestly? I'm not sure. I was told that I'd be training you in field work as well as the more organizational side of the SSR, but if another agent that is more qualified than I am brings enough reason to the Chief, I could be easily replaced." 

Bucky's heart broke at that. He had barely been here a day, and he could already see how much harder you worked than every other agent in the office, except for maybe the Chief. At that moment, he decided that if some other agent did try to swoop in and train him for field work, he wouldn't have it. 

***

As it happened, that exact scenario happened barely a month later. He had worked tirelessly with Y/N getting to know the filing system and organizational aspects of the SSR inside out, sometimes staying up well into the night to go over certain things he had to know in order to start field training. He wanted to get out into the field as quickly as possible, along with the fact that he wanted to help Y/N escape the clerical hell she was stuck in. He had seen the way that the agents treated her on a daily basis, practically throwing files on her desk for her to finish and file away, calling to her during important tasks and phone calls so that she could fetch them coffee, and blatantly criticized her appearance and attitude behind her back when she would step away to go to the ladies' room. To Bucky, it was absolutely not right and he was glad his mother had raised him to be respectful of everyone, no matter who they were. So he figured if he could show the Chief that he was proficient in the organizational side of the agency, he would let them begin field training earlier and they could both escape that toxic environment for a while. 

Until a wrench was thrown into Bucky's plan. He had set up a meeting with Chief Thompson to show him that he was ready for field work, and he had informed Bucky that his field training would be taken over by Agent Samuel Turner, who Bucky remembered as having been particularly mean to Y/N, criticizing her for "dressing too masculine" and that she "always wore a scowl instead of a smile." 

"With all due respect Chief," Bucky immediately said after hearing the news. "I would much rather be trained by Agent L/N than Agent Turner, because I'm not sure I would be able to spend that much time with him without slapping him." 

At that remark, Chief Thompson cracked a smile and nodded understandingly. "I might have been hoping you'd reject Agent Turner's proposition to train you in field work, I had promised Agent L/N she would get a chance to make him do his own filing for once, and I think she would do a better job training you. I'll let Agent Turner know he's been reassigned and tell Agent L/N that she can begin your field training next week." 

Bucky walked out of that meeting with his head held high and a smile on his face. His smile only grew bigger when he watched Agent Turner through a fit about being reassigned to clean out the evidence room and reorganize all his previous case files, and when he watched you try and hide your smile when he told you that you were cleared to begin his field training next week. 

And he knew you couldn't hide your own smile as you watched Agent Turner stomp around the office after Chief Thompson broke the news to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey all! sorry if this chapter felt a little slow, but the good news is that now the basic story line is all set up, and the next chapters will be more exciting (for both the bucky/reader aspect and actual action)
> 
> sorry for the longer wait, i'm about a month out from the end of the spring semester and this is the time where i have the most schoolwork. hopefully i'll be able to get the next chapter out soon, but if not, i apologize in advance. 
> 
> thanks for reading and i will see you in the next chapter!


End file.
